Featured Secretary Desk curious of maker and how old?

Hi all i'm new to the forum and would appreciate your help on a Secretary Desk I came across? It is in really rough shape with the exception of the inside. I was wondering if anyone would know anything about this piece with regards to the maker and age?
thx in advance Dave

 

the boay looks like a viking ship...where r u..?

 

LOVE the desk !!! ... And WELCOME Dave !!! ... Joy.

 

okanagan valley bc canada

 

Cool piece. Id guess 1920s,some sort of spanish revival.

 

It does have a sort-of radio console look to it. I can see it being 1920s as well. That said, it might be earlier. My other impression was Moorish revival (a bit broader than Spanish).

The Moorish revival came out of orientalist art and happened in the last half of the 19th C. It's leading furniture designer was Carlo Bugatti, who actually came in at the end... after 1900. The style lingered.

https://www.google.com/search?q=moo...MKHS2DCb0Q9QEwBnoECAkQEA#imgrc=tyWKQyhE8cPl4M:

 

thx Joy

 

thx for the info and link, here's 2 more pics

 

20s for sure! Spanish or Italian detailing.

 

Ahhh..I haven't had a good pear cider in a long time !!

 

Welcome Dave, I love the desk.

I agree, definitely an Orientalist/Moorish influence. A bit of Gothic Revival on the two decorations next to the ship. The wrought iron parts are reminiscent of both Gothic and Spanish furniture.
The ship looks Viking, as komo said, with the Drakar figurehead and the round shields on the sides.
That seems a strange combination, possibly random. But the Vikings traveled the entire Mediterranean as well as more northern coastal regions. So they were no strangers on North African and, to a lesser extent, Middle Eastern shores.

 

Okanaga wines. Yum.

 

Absolutely. In Canada I had a theologian's joke about BC wines, I think you'll get the drift.

 

Heh.

 

Thanks everyone! My first impression was someone colored in the front design as an afterthought thinking it was originally without any coloring and just engraved wood. Now I'm not so sure as that might be original? It seems like this piece just sat in a garage somewhere for years unopened(hence the better condition on the inside). Now what do I do with it?? lol Another project in the shop?

 

The ship seems too well integrated to be an afterthought.

I think this is a very interesting piece, and worth holding onto. Restoring those strap work hinges could be dicey, but as for the rest.....scratch cover, feed n' wax, and elbow grease will go far.

 

Gotta say, that doesn't really look like a Viking ship to me, more like a fantasy medieval Spanish or Portuguese ship with a dragon or sea-serpent figurehead - sort of like the variety of dragon-head ships found in Spanish Damascene brooches...

~Cheryl

 

Mom's in bed now, so a bit more time to clarify (have a lifelong interest in Scandinavia, and have collected Viking themed items for around 50 years now) - a Viking ship would be relatively low and shallow, the bow and stern would be similar in shape, enabling quick changes in direction, it would also be single-masted, and even though the term came from the Vikings using ravens to sight land, there would be no 'crow's-nest' for a man - so to my eye, this does not look like a Viking ship...

~Cheryl

 

I am with Cheryl on this.